Thanks to Miss Akiyata, EverythingMath and Dragonfire78 for reviewing. First time I had less than four reviews for this story. Did I do something wrong?

When I was almost finished with the chapter, I realised how many times I focused on Asian Nations, which is why the chapter is named as it is. Let's see, we've got Mahesh, Raj, a brief moment with Gan, 1P Thailand (Kasem), Kyo, Yong Soo and a brief moment with Jeng Soo.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 50: Trouble in the East

Mahesh stared at the image displayed on his phone screen. It was Raj, and he had certainly been through a beating.

The sender of the message was Japan, and with what he had said before, he knew what this was. This was a warning, and a challenge at the same time.

Japan really wanted to start another Japanese-Indian War, and this time he wanted to take back the ones that had been rescued by Mahesh during the previous one.

Vietnam and Taiwan.

"Are you okay?" Ricardo whispered, startling Mahesh.

"I'm fine," he whispered.

"What's wrong?" Roberto asked.

The Southern Powers were startled out of their reverie, and they looked down to the rest of their counterparts. Alida sighed, grabbing Mahesh's phone, before she closed the image and slipped the device back into Mahesh's pockets.

They had come to an unspoken agreement.

None of them wanted their counterparts to see the image of their friend in such a state.

…

Omar kept her eyes on Alida. She could see the disturbed look in all four of the members of the Southern Powers' eyes.

Based on who had received the message on the phone, one would guess that what they received something regarding Raj. And whatever it was, it bothered them enough to distract them from the meeting.

Speaking of being distracted from the meeting…

She was a little annoyed with the fact that several of her fellow Africans kept stealing glances towards her, each of them surprised when they saw that she was now a woman.

"I know," Gupta murmured from next to her. "Just ignore them."

…

Kyo stormed through the halls of Luciano's manor, her route set. She ignored the looks the other Nations would give her. She knew that it was now because she's a woman.

When she finally reached the door she was searching for, she turned the key still in the keyhole. Slamming the door open, she turned on the light that had, up until that point, been turned off.

She glared at India that was lying passed out against the wall. She stalked over to the unconscious Nation.

"Wake up!" she snarled, nudging him with her foot.

When that didn't work, she started to feel incensed, and started kicking him. She wasn't sure how many times she kicked him, but she was assured that he would have many new bruises on his stomach, chest and legs.

She then stepped onto his wrist, applying more pressure until she heard a satisfying snap.

She smirked, before scowling. Through all of that, Raj still hadn't woken up.

She sighed, kneeling down in front of him and checked his pulse, satisfied that it was still there. For a moment, she thought that he was dead. That would be awful. He was still a useful weapon against his counterpart.

Clicking her tongue, she whirled around, exiting the room. She ignored Lutz, who was leaning against the wall, and relocked the door.

"Feeling better now?" Lutz asked.

"Hai," Kyo said. "But it would have been better if he was awake for it. What about you? How are you so calm?"

"Seeing you beat the scheisse out of him was satisfying enough. Plus, once we find out who the one responsible is, we can punish them ourselves."

Kyo smirked at that.

"That would be nice," she said.

…

Marius stared at the blank mirror, completely and utterly bored. Apparently, when the Nations went over to the world of their counterparts, nothing could be seen. Absolutely nothing.

At least she knew that she wasn't the only one, and it didn't only apply to Nations that could see their counterparts through the mirrors. Anyone else was blind as well.

…

Thailand was walking through the halls of England's home. Every now and again he would pass by another Nation, and whenever he heard a crash he would simply avoid that direction.

Kasem wished that Toto was with him, but he had assumed that the original meeting, being arranged in short notice, wouldn't take long at all. Therefore, he didn't take his pet along. He wished he did, though.

He had spent quite a lot of time with Gan when he was there, and had learned a lot about the other world. He was horrified when he heard everything his counterpart went through.

He wanted to check on Hyung Soo. The other had gone through quite a lot, and he wanted to see how the North Korean was handling things. He had also heard what the other North Korean had done, and had seen first-hand what Gan had done in retaliation.

He froze when he felt a hand clamp over his mouth. What concerned him was the fact that the hand didn't feel human.

"Finally found you," a voice whispered in his ear, dragging him to a nearby room as he tried to struggle free.

…

Gan shuddered. For some reason, he had a feeling that something was seriously wrong.

…

Ludwig still didn't know how she felt as the Southern Nations discussed their war strategies. Many of the Nations from her own world saw it, but none of them said anything, though they did glance in her direction every now and again.

What they were planning was no longer a Cold War, but a World War. And none of them argued against it.

She wanted to object. Heading a World War was never a good thing. It didn't end well. But…

When certain areas were mentioned, she simply looked in the Southern Nations' eyes. She could clearly see the anger, the pain, the hate and the fear. Whenever the other America was mentioned, many of the South Americans would flinch, and she even caught the other Ecuador rub his shoulder, as though there was a phantom pain. When the other Austria was mentioned, she witnessed as a few of them shuddered, and she saw Sudan place her hand on her ear. When Korea was mentioned, Jeng Soo had to bury his face because the entire South East Asia would glare at him, and she even saw Gan crack his knuckles.

But what pained her the most was when Lutz was mentioned. She had coincidentally looked in the other Namibia's direction, and was almost terrified when she saw the other had tears brimming in her eyes, combined with raw hatred. She didn't know the history there, but assumed that it wasn't good.

He had thought of Jana as a sister, and so did Gilbert. They had lost her in the First World War, and it was still a bitter pill to swallow.

Neither her nor Gilbert had really tried to patch things up, too afraid of her reaction about being taken from them and given to her actual sister to control. It was slightly humiliating, though. Being under the control of a country that wasn't even independent herself, and to be treated as a Province. And Ludwig was afraid that Jana would blame them for that.

But to see her counterpart in so much pain made Ludwig's blood boil. She didn't know what Lutz did to her, but she didn't care. She would fix it.

And she could finally understand why none of the Nations from her own world wanted to protest against this. Because they could also see the pain in Nations that they knew and cared for, and wanted to do anything to take that pain away. And it was also because of guilt, knowing that your counterparts were responsible for that pain.

Strangely, when Turkey or Greece were mentioned, the only one that seemed upset was Omar. Understandable, but didn't those two try to hurt any of the others?

…

Botswana frowned. For some strange reason, he had the feeling that there was something seriously wrong.

Ignoring the argument between Lesotho and Swaziland he was supervising, he grabbed onto Zimbabwe and pulled him along. The other looked confused, but didn't say anything as he saw his neighbour's face.

"Please tell me you sense it too," Botswana said.

"Sense what?" Zimbabwe asked, before his eyes widened.

They didn't have the magic touch, but they were still sensitive to certain things.

Exchanging a look, the two of them separated to try and find the source. Just because they sensed it, didn't mean they knew where to look.

…

Kasem was pinned to the bed in the room, a hand still on his mouth. He looked up to see his attackers, and screamed when he saw them.

One appeared to be a draconian figure, while the other looked lupine. Whatever these were, they couldn't be considered human.

He also saw other figures standing in the distance, but he couldn't make out any features, other than wings.

"Are you sure he's one of them?" one of the figures from the back asked.

"Yes," the draconian figure said. "One of the others are inside of him. And I think it's time to set the third free."

And he screamed as the lupine figure twisted his arm, earning a crack sound.

He wondered if these creatures were perhaps Deathplayers.

…

When Raj opened his eyes again, he was in an intense amount of pain, even more so than when he had passed out. He understood the pain in his chest, but not the others, especially his left wrist.

"Japan gave you a bit of a beating while you were asleep."

He looked up towards the voice, startled. His eyes widened when he saw the speaker.

The person looked like him, but horribly twisted. His hair was long, like Mahesh's, but unlike his counterpart, his hair was loose. He had red eyes with slits for pupils. It wore loose-fitting black pants and nothing else, though there was a tattoo of a serpent coiling along his torso. But the most horrible features were the horns, wings and tail.

"What are you?" Raj asked, staring in horror.

"I think you know what I am," the creature said.

Raj had to remember past conversations with Anika before he realised what exactly this creature was.

"You're a Deathplayer," he whispered. "You attacked Sansad Bhavan."

"Very clever," the Deathplayer said. "According to the order of discovery, we were supposed to attack the Queen's throne, but with you so vulnerable, we decided to go for a Knight's steed. Although we need to get the Queen. Then we just need to attack the other Knight and the two Rooks."

"What are you talking about? Why are you doing this?"

"It's not the place of a Piece to question a Player. Even if you aren't a Pawn. Or a Block."

"…Block?"

"All shall be clear eventually. But for now, I think I hear company approaching. Guḍabāya."

Before Raj could ask anything else, the Deathplayer was gone, and he heard the keys turn in the lock.

He stared with wide eyes as the door opened to reveal the South Korea of this world. Im Hyo Soo.

"Oh good, you're finally awake," Hyo Soo said. "Now we can begin."

…

Patrick frowned. He sensed something strange, though he wasn't quite sure what it was. It felt strange, but at the same time it felt muted. Almost like…

His eyes widened when he realised what it felt like. It felt a lot like a Deathplayer, or what he assumed was a Deathplayer. It was late at night when he last felt it, and it didn't work out for him.

Frowning, he started searching for the source, at least until he bumped into Zimbabwe.

"Ouch," the African Nation muttered.

"Sorry," Northern Ireland said. "Tell me, what are the odds of someone being able to sense a Deathplayer?"

Zimbabwe stared at him with wide eyes.

"You'd be the first non-African to sense one then," Zimbabwe said. "But I can feel them too, and so can Botswana. That usually means there's more than one."

Patrick felt his stomach drop at that revelation.

"Do you know where they are?" he asked.

"No. We can only sense if they're here, not where they are."

"Then we'll need to start looking."

…

Felic huffed. It was starting to get really boring, just watching as Feliks stuffed her face with all that candy. It was ridiculous.

But she was mostly upset that Feliks now refused to go to sleep. And her fingers were just itching to torture someone. Perhaps, if she could slip through, she could pay Feliks a little visit in the middle of the night.

It might work, and if Feliks refused to sleep, it might just be the only thing she could do.

…

Yong Soo kept his eyes on the battle plans. He had his own plan, and he needed to cooperate with the South to make things work.

He was glad that his hanbock was so roomy, since it made it possible to sneak in many items. Items that he and Hyung Soo had created from scratch with items found in the Kirklands' large home. And he was actually impressed with what they had gathered.

Revenge originated in Korea, after all.

"Alright," the dark-haired South Africa said, looking in their direction. "Are any of you willing to remain in our world for the sake of securing our Northern territories?"

He was one of the Nations to raise his hand, and he was glad that having a huge smile on his face wouldn't be considered out of character for him. That was an opportunity he couldn't let slip through his fingers.

And ironically, he would be securing his own land, as well as the land of his brother. And he could ask his brother's counterpart to take him to the other Japan's house.

Yes, an opportunity that he couldn't afford to lose.

…

Kasem had tears streaming from his eyes. So far, his arms, wrists, fingers and ankles were broken. He had no idea why these creatures, these Deathplayers, were doing this to him, and he didn't really care. He just wanted it to stop.

Throughout it all, the draconian Deathplayer had kept its hand on his mouth, preventing the others in the Union House from hearing what was going on. And he just wanted it to end.

The lupine Deathplayer applied weight to his knee, and he screamed as he heard, and felt, the bone shatter.

And then, something strange happened.

He didn't realise he was glowing in a light, but he was surprised when the draconian Deathplayer let go of him. And, to his horror, he saw a serpentine creature suddenly appear, as though it was emerging from his own body.

But that was as much as he could take, and before he realised what was happening, he finally managed to succumb to the darkness that until that moment had eluded him, but which was sought after.

…

Raj winced as he lay on his stomach, Hyo Soo hovering over him. The other was carving something onto his back using a rusty knife, which of course only added to the pain.

"There we go," Hyo Soo muttered. "Now, everyone would know that South Korea marked you. That'd also teach my stupid brother."

"How is torturing me supposed to teach your brother?" Raj asked.

"Oh, simply because they used to be friends, hundreds of years ago. But I guess they still are. Otherwise, Jeng Soo wouldn't have betrayed me, now would he?"

Raj's eyes widened. This was his reason for hating Mahesh? Because the other was friends with his brother?

He also noticed something specific. Hyo Soo had said that Jeng Soo had betrayed him, not them. He took Jeng Soo's allegiance to the South as a personal slight.

He grunted when Hyo Soo pressed his foot against the new cut, the sting shooting from his back all the way to the tips of his fingers.

"But I don't want to talk about that now," Hyo Soo said. "Let's go back to playing, shall we?"

…

"Alright," Alida said, "that concludes the meeting. Any questions?"

Her eyes scanned the Nations gathered, and when she saw that everyone appeared to be satisfied, she nodded her head.

"Then it's settled." She looked towards the guests. "Those of you that are staying, feel free to find someone that you'd be willing to assist. Those that are leaving, good luck."

…

Omar sighed, trying desperately to avoid the other Nations' eyes. She really didn't want to be reminded of the fact that she was now a woman. And naturally, she was unable to snap at her allies for staring at her, and there was only so much her glare could do.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Alida with a small ghost of a smile on her face.

"You did an excellent job, Omar," Alida said. "And your sacrifices are valued. But with Italy and his goons being able to cross over to the other world, that spell would be useless. Instead, your services could be used here."

She spared a glance in Anika's direction, before looking back to Alida.

"I'm sure the other Nations from her world can watch over her," Alida said. "After what happened to Raj, I doubt they would let their guard down."

Omar nodded her head, understanding clear.

"There's one thing I'm curious about," Alida continued. "Do you look like your mother?"

Omar gave a small smile, before nodding her head.

…

Zimbabwe and Northern Ireland stopped. They could no longer feel the presence of a Deathplayer.

"Oh no," Patrick whispered. "Please tell me we're not too late."

"We're in so much trouble when the others get back," Zimbabwe muttered.

…

"Hey, Jeng Soo," Yong Soo said.

The North Korean turned to face his brother's counterpart, lifting an eyebrow.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I want you to take me to your Japan's house."

The other narrowed his eyes.

"Why?"

"Because, I want to show him why revenge originated in Korea."

"I'm assuming you're referring to Hyung Soo?"

"Of course."

"…Very well. What do you have in mind?"

…

Natalya, while on patrol, couldn't help but feel as though something was wrong. There was a nagging at the back of her mind.

As she was passing many doors, she suddenly froze. There was something seriously wrong inside that room.

Taking out one of her knives, she prepared herself for what she might find behind the closed door, and slowly turned the knob.

Her eyes widened when she caught sight of an unconscious Thailand, his face extremely pale.

And the winner of the poll is… Mirror History! I'll start posting next week, since I more or less have enough chapters. There won't be a specific order to the chapters, but I'll post it weekly. I'll also be working on the other fics, and I'll let you know when I'll start posting.

And the biggest news at the moment in my country is that Miss South Africa was chosen as Miss World. Finally, good publicity regarding my country.